Will You Be My Valentine?
by LuciferIX
Summary: The first annual Championship Ball is coming up soon and May is heading back to Pallet Town to visit some old friends. Advanceshipping, AshMay, SatoHaru
1. The Reunion

Well so far I've made a story in third person and one in Ash's POV, so naturally the next one should be May's POV. So it was because of this that I decided to do the third story. It's actually themed off of a pic that I found that is also currently my laptop's background. And I like the two-shot theme, so this will probably follow the same format. So here's my third story, hope you guys like it.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokèmon or its characters.

Valentine's Day. One of the most commercialized holidays of the year, the day that love blossoms and bonds strengthen. It is also on this day that the first annual Championship Ball is being held. I have two boys that have a chance of stealing my heart. Both show their care in different ways and each has their flaws. The first is the perfect definition of a romantic, always showering me with roses and a large smile accompanied by a quick flick of his long hair. The other is shy when it comes to love, the only way he would admit anything (or realize it for that matter) would be if it hit him straight in the face, but he is always there to help me though the difficult times and has saved my life on more than one occasion. While outside of the Contest ring they each are slowly winning my heart, inside the ring is where they separate into two completely categories. The Romeo-type is a rival of mine and he never misses a chance to prove that he his better than me in every way. But the other is one of my best supporters; he is always yelling the loudest for my victory. He takes much pride in my victories and blames himself for every one of my defeats. Yet even after my defeats we spend many late nights to fix the mistakes that I made in my battle and correct them so that they cannot hold me back any longer.

It is those differences that set them apart. While my rival can use the right moves and words to woo a girl to him, to completely win my heart he needs to show that he can care for more than just himself. And my other friend is just too dense, if I could just tell his true feelings than I could finally choose between the two. It is this quality of his that is keeping me from knowing exactly what he thinks of me, if he loves another than I choose my rival, but if he does care for me more than just as a friend than I think I would be able to accept his feelings and we could become a couple. The choice must come soon; I have to choose between the two.

* * *

"It's been over a year since we've last seen them; I wonder how they've been doing?"

As I was walking down the road back to Kanto I started up a conversation with Eevee to pass the time. Ever since I left my old traveling group to compete in the Johto contests, she has been the one who I've spilled my secrets to or who I would just engage in idle chit-chat with. She keeps me company while I'm on the long roads alone. Because of this Eevee has been outside of her Pokè Ball so often that I've just let her ride on my shoulder, much like Ash and Pikachu.

"Vee."

"Well the last time I talked to Ash and Brock was a few weeks before the Grand Festival. Ash was preparing for the Sinnoh Championship while Dawn was preparing for the Sinnoh Grand Festival. I haven't even heard to results of the two. But I wonder if they were invited to this Championship Ball as well?" As I said this I took out the ticket that I won and to get another look at it. It read, "Congratulations ticket holder for placing in one of the top four seats of your competition, you are cordially invited to a dance held in honor of all the top trainers in the surrounding regions. The dance will be held on Valentine's Day at the Indigo Plateau. This ticket permits you and one guest to attend this exclusive ball. Please do not loose this ticket, without it you will not be able to attend."

"Eevee."

"Your right, I should trust Ash more," I replied to her with a smile, "After all the tournaments that he's been to he would have definitely gotten at least second place. But I wonder who I will invite to go with me? There's virtually no way that I would let Drew be my date, especially after him rubbing his win in my face after I lost to him in the final round, but I guess Ash wouldn't be a bad choice." I could feel my face heat up a little at the thought of going to a dance with Ash; Eevee gave me a sly look. "What? Besides he probably already has someone picked out." I said with a large sigh. "As much fun as it was traveling by myself…"

"Vee."

"Sorry, I meant traveling with only you guys, I still miss being with the rest of my friends." I gave Eevee a small rub under her chin. "Well we aren't too far from Pallet Town, so once we get there we can finally see our old friends, and Bulbasaur as well."

* * *

After about an hour of walking Eevee and I were finally able to see Professor Oak's Lab, the unofficial symbol of Pallet Town.

"Well we're finally here; you think we should run the rest of the way to Ash's house?"

"Vui," Eevee replied as she jumped off my shoulder and started to run down the road.

"Hey, wait up Eevee!" I yelled as I chassed after her.

As we reached the front door of the Ketchum residence Eevee sat down right in front of the door with a victorious look on her face.

"Okay you beat me, but you had all the advantages you know that right? And besides that, you cheated." I said while giving off a small laugh and holding my arm out for her to climb up onto.

"Vee," she responded and climbed back up onto my shoulder. As she got up there she rubbed her face against mine.

"Okay, Okay, stop that would ya? It tickles!" I say trying to control my laughter. As she stops and I gained control of myself again I finally rang the doorbell.

"Coming," I could hear a voice calling from inside. As the door opened I straightened my posture to make a good impression for a person who I haven't seen in a long time. "Oh May, its good to see you again," Mrs. Ketchum says as she gave me a big hug. "Ash will be so glad to see you again, but I'm sorry to say that he's not here yet. They aren't supposed to be back until tomorrow."

"Oh," my voice dropped as the comment sunk in. "Well I'm sorry for stopping in unannounced like this. If you want I can wait until they return and…"

"Oh nonsense, you are like an extended family member here. You can spend the night in the guest bedroom, and we can make a big meal for them tomorrow before they get here."

"Well thank you very much Mrs. Ketchum. If you don't mind could I just drop off my stuff and go visit Professor Oak's lab?"

"Of course you can dear. Just make sure that you are back by six tonight. I'll have dinner ready by then."

"Well thanks again Mrs. Ketchum." I ran up to the guest bedroom and dropped of my bag and ran back downstairs. "Sorry for running off so soon like this but..."

"You don't need to explain yourself May, after living with Ash this long I know how you teenagers work these days. Just go and enjoy yourself."

"Well either way I'm still sorry." I yelled back to her as I ran off to the lab.

It only took a couple minutes to reach the lab. By the time I got to the door I was excited about seeing all the Pokèmon at the lab, but most importantly seeing my Bulbasaur again. I rang the bell and waited impatiently for someone to answer. After what seemed to be an hour someone finally opened the door. The person who answered had black hair and a red headband, if I remember correctly his name was Tracey.

"May, it's been a long time since you left. What brings you here after all this time?"

"Well a couple of reasons actually, the first is that I came to meet up with Ash and his group and see how he did in Sinnoh, and second I came to see my Bulbasaur."

"Guess I should have known." He said with a chuckle, "Come on in, I'll take you to her, she's probably out near the pond at the moment."

"Thanks Tracey, I appreciate it."

He led me through the lab to the back lots, and we started to walk across the large prairie-like fields that held Pokèmon as far as the eye can see. _"Every time I come here I can't stop but stare in awe at how may different Pokèmon are here."_ But I was knocked back to reality after hearing some Pokèmon calling out, as I looked up I could see a Glalie, Torkoal, and Swellow all running at me. I wasn't ready for them as they all plowed into me, knocking me off of my feet. Eevee was lucky enough to jump off just in time, so she didn't suffer the same fate. She started to laugh at my predicament, but at that moment I was not entertained. I was sitting underneath three overly excited Pokèmon and they were getting heavy.

"Alright it's nice to see you guys too but Ash will be here tomorrow, so can't you at least save the greetings for then?" I know that they heard me but I guess they were just too excited about seeing an old friend to really care.

"_Just like Ash, they only listen when it suits them."_

"Alright fine, you guys can come with me. But can you at least get off of me first?"

"Okay guys break it up, I know that you're happy to see May again but she's here to see her Bulbasaur. She can play with you all after." Tracey said as he tried to pull them off of me. After a final whine they finally got off of me.

"Don't worry I promise that I'll be back in a little while. I know Sceptile isn't the type to run up to someone like that but can you guys tell me where he is so I can at least say hi?" They all pointed to the forest where we were originally headed. "Thanks everyone, I'll see you again in a bit. Come on Eevee!" As the three of us headed into the forest I could feel the sad stares of Ash's Pokèmon pierce straight though me. _"I would never have guessed that they would have missed me that much."_ I found myself thinking as we continued on.

About a minute into the forest I caught a glimpse of a large bipedal lizard sitting in the low branches of a tree with a twig in his mouth. "Well long time no see Sceptile, why doesn't it surprise me that you are out here by yourself?" I questioned with a small laugh. He just opened one eye for a brief second but ignored me. "Well fine be that way, but your attitude will change by tomorrow."

"Tile?" He opened his eye again, but this time I could tell I had his full attention.

"You may not be too excited to see me but Ash will be back tomorrow. And no matter how big a façade you put on we all know that deep inside your nothing but a big softie." I teased with a big smile on my face.

"Tile." He gruffly said while turning his head away. But I could tell that he was embarrassed by the truth so I let it drop.

"Well it was nice seeing you again Sceptile; we'll probably meet up again tomorrow when Ash comes to visit here." And with that we continued on towards the small lake that lies in the middle of this forest.

When we finally arrived there the water Pokèmon all looked at us with curious glances but went back to their usual routines. "Well here we are, now your Bulbasaur should be around here somewhere." Tracey said breaking the silence.

"Let's see if I can't make this search go a little faster. BULBASAUR!" I called out into the surrounding forest. After a few seconds I could hear some branches breaking and out from the undergrowth my little Bulbasaur came bounding out tackled me to the ground.

"Ouch, what's with all the painful reunions today?" I chuckled as I sit up, but Bulbasaur apparently didn't hear me as she was still on top of me trying to snuggle into my body. I give a sigh, _"Well I guess I can't blame her, it has been a while."_

"So I can see why you spend most of your time out here, it's very beautiful," but as soon as I said that another Bulbasaur came walking out of the forest right where my Bulbasaur came from. "Well, well, well; I guess their might be another reason that you stay around here." I whispered privately to her.

"Bulbasaur," was the only verbal response I got from her but I could tell that she was blushing as well. _"So my little Bulbasaur has a crush, isn't that just cute!"_

"Don't worry I won't tell anyone. Your secret's safe with me, but if you want my advice you should tell him soon." I whispered back.

"Bulba!" She then jumped into me yet again, tossing me back to the ground.

"Alright I know, now you seem busy so you can go and play with Ash's Bulbasaur, we will probably have a big party tomorrow when Ash, Brock, and Dawn get here." I said out loud so that Ash's Bulbasaur could hear it as well. "We can have all of our Pokèmon play with each other, both old and new. Now I have a promise to keep to three energetic Pokèmon, so I'll see you tomorrow then Bulbasaur."

* * *

I woke up the next morning feeling very stiff, _"Man Ash's Pokèmon play rough, well at least the supper last night was good and the bed was soft."_ I looked over at Eevee who had fallen asleep on the bed right next to me.

"Wake up Eevee, its morning already. We need to get ready for everyone's arrival today." Eevee gave a big yawn, looked at me with sleepy eyes, and gave a soft "Vui."

"Come on, wake up already." I say to her as I picked her up, "we have a big day ahead of us." But I guess me holding her had the opposite affect of what I was hoping for, because she slipped right back into sleep. "_sigh_, fine you can sleep. But don't be mad if you miss out though."

As I got downstairs I could smell the breakfast Mrs. Ketchum was making. I set Eevee down onto the couch and went to join Mrs. Ketchum in the kitchen.

"Well good morning May. I hope that you are ready for the big day today." She said as I came in.

"Good morning Mrs. Ketchum, you didn't need to make breakfast, I could have made my own."

"Don't worry about it dear, we need to get things heated up to make the welcome back meal for everyone so we might as well do two things at once. And besides with your appetite it reminds me of when Ash was still home." She replied with a smile.

"Um, thanks. I guess." I said as I took a seat.

"Well here it all is, eat up. After breakfast we can start cooking for everyone else."

"Thank you Mrs. Ketchum. Well let's dig in!"

Mrs. Ketchum's food was almost as good Brock's cooking. I was able to eat several portions and take my fill. After we cleaned up the dishes the two of us started to make the meal for everyone for when they come back. It took a few hours but by noon we were able to get everything ready.

"Oh man I'm tired," I said as I plopped down on the couch next to the still sleeping Eevee. "I don't remember the last time I have done that much cooking." I picked up Eevee and placed her into my lap. "Well I hope my cooking is good enough for them, the only person that I've ever cooked for is myself." As I start to pet her she cooed and cuddled further into my lap. "Well I guess we can only wait and see."

But just then I could hear the front door open and voices hurriedly talking about many things.

"Mom, we're home. What are you cooking, it smells great in here."

I knew that voice; it was the voice of one of the best friends that I've ever made during my travels. Just hearing that voice made a smile come to my face.

"Mom are you home?" The voice called as he came running into the living room, looking over at me the boy blinked a few times, almost as if he didn't believe his own eyes. "May? What are you doing here?"

"What May is here?" I could hear a feminine voice ask, as she popped out from behind Ash. "Wow! May is actually right here in front of me!"

"Pika!" Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and ran to the couch to meet me. As he got up next to me I started to pet him and he just sat down next to my lap. _"Well someone is glad to be home."_

"Hey Ash, hey Dawn, do you really have to be that surprised about seeing me?" I joked. "Cause it looks like Pikachu is the only one who has given me true hello."

"Well I guess I shouldn't be," Ash said, "but what brings you here?"

"Oh be quiet Ash, who really cares?" Dawn scoffed at Ash. "I can't believe that you are here!"

"And that includes you too Dawn," I joked again, "Is talking over the phone not enough?"

"Well not after you were able to place second in the Johto Grand Festival! I was only able to get in the top 8."

"How many times do I have to tell you Dawn? Placing in the top 8 is excellent for a first time coordinator like yourself." Ash replied with a slight annoyance in his voice.

"Ya but I didn't get invited to the Championship Ball like you and May did." She pouted.

"Wait, Ash you were invited as well?" I asked slightly surprised.

"You didn't know? I placed first in the Sinnoh League." He proudly stated.

"Sorry, by the time that our Grand Festival was over I had to start walking here to make it in time, and they don't exactly have the best Sinnoh news access in Johto."

"That's okay, sorry about that loss to Drew though, I know how badly he can push your buttons."

"Don't worry about it; I'm not mad about it anymore. So have you chosen a person to take with you to the dance?"

"Um, I have an idea but I'm not sure." As he said this he looked away from me. I could feel a slight tinge of jealousy at that, but if he didn't want to talk about it then I would let it drop.

"So where's Brock?"

"Well he had to go take care of a few things back home. But he'll join up with us in a few days."

"Ash?" Mrs. Ketchum was calling from the kitchen. "Oh good your home, and Dawn is with you. Well it's nice to finally meet you in person Dawn. But you should come into the kitchen and eat before the food gets cold."

"Alright! Food!" Both Ash and Dawn cheered.

_"Well at least some things never change."_ I thought as I sat up, putting Eevee on the floor. "Come on you lazy Pokèmon, I'm going to wake you up now whether you like it or not." She slowly came to, gave a big yawn, stretched and finally looked ready to start the day. "Well that took long enough," I teased, "come on, its time to eat, you too Pikachu."

"Vee!" She said as she and Pikachu scampered off to the kitchen with me right behind them.

When I got to the kitchen I could see that Ash and Dawn had already started to eat. They ate like they have never seen food before, and I could only shake my head at what I was seeing.

"Wow Mom, this is really good. We haven't had a good meal like this in a few days, ever since Brock left." Ash said in between servings.

"Well as much as I would like to, I can't take all of the credit. May helped out a lot in making this." Mrs. Ketchum said to her son.

"Wait, May when did you learn how to cook?"

"Well for you information, I have taken lessons from Brock and I have learned quite a few recipes while traveling through Johto." I say trying, but failing, to hide the annoyance in my voice.

"Sorry, it's just that you never cooked when you were traveling with us. So I never realized you were this good."

At that compliment I could feel my face start to heat up, "Oh, well thanks Ash."

"Its true May, I wish I could cook this well. I've always just relied on Brock's cooking all this time." Dawn added in.

"Thanks to you too Dawn, Eevee come and get some food." I got up to go get her food and dish and set them on the floor next to my chair. Eevee gladly came up and started to eat.

"So that's your Eevee. She's really cute." Dawn said as she finished up her food.

"Thanks, she gives one of my best appeals so I have to make sure that she looks her best at all times."

"Do you think I could get a look at the rest of your Pokèmon?"

"Well I was thinking of heading out to Professor Oak's lab today, Ash's Pokèmon know that he was coming back today and they are waiting for him."

"Well how about we head out there right now?" Ash interrupted our conversation as he started to clean up the table.

"Wow I get to see all of the rest of your Pokèmon Ash? From what you have right now I can't wait to see the rest of them." Dawn said enthusiastically.

So after we cleaned up the table, we prepared to leave for the lab. Eevee once again took up her usual position on my shoulder.

"May why haven't you put Eevee back into her Pokèball?" Ash questioned as we walked down the road.

"Well she has become my official traveling companion throughout Johto, and she hasn't actually been in her Pokèball since…" I paused to think for a bit. "Well I think the last time was about a week or two after we split up, and from that point on she has ridden on my shoulder."

"Just like Ash and Pikachu." Dawn added.

I blushed a little being compared with Ash like that. "Sure, just like Ash and Pikachu." Eevee noticed my blush and tried to tickle my face to distract me from the thought. _"Thanks Eevee, you always know how to cheer me up."_ I thought while trying to keep from laughing

Ash gave me an odd look but seemed to shake it off, _"I wonder what he's thinking about after that comparison."_

The rest of the walk was uneventful as we engaged in small talk about our past adventures. Dawn was starting to get on my nerves at times with how much she asked for stories of my contests. By the time we saw the lab, I was more than ready to end the discussion. As much as I love talking about my achievements, even I have my limits.

* * *

Well that's chapter one complete, hope people liked it. The next chapter is already on its way, although I'm not sure if I can keep it to the usual two chapters now. Guess we'll find out soon. Well as always please review, criticism is welcome and flames against the shipping will still be ignored.


	2. A Friend's Choice

Well chapter two is up and ready. Like I thought at the end of the last chapter this story is definitely not going to fit onto two chapters. Looks like I'm shooting for three or four now. And thanks to everyone who caught the mistakes from my last chapter, hopefully they won't be repeated. Sorry for the double update, but bbbstrwbrry caught something that I found a little too major to keep until the next update. So enjoy the read!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokèmon or its characters.

* * *

We finally got to the lab and once again Tracey let us into the back lots. When we got back there I made sure to be at the back of the group, knowing what was in store for us when we got out there. Sure enough, as soon as we got out in the open I could hear the noises of Pokèmon running up to us. But instead of just the three I got it was every single one of Ash's Pokèmon. As I saw this I pulled Dawn back so that she wouldn't be caught in the stampede as well. Like when I first came to the lab nearly two years ago, Ash got dragged off by his Pokèmon and had to be rescued by Bayleef and Sceptile. All I could do was laugh it off, but I could see that there were three Pokèmon that weren't running after him. Besides Pikachu, who had jumped onto my other shoulder to avoid the stampede as well, our two Bulbasaur were standing right next to me, calm as can be.

"Well while Ash is off playing with his Pokèmon, I think I can at least introduce you to a couple of them." I say to Dawn. "These are our Bulbasaur, the one with the heart shaped spots on its forehead is mine and the bigger one is Ash's. Guys, this is Dawn, she traveled with Ash and Brock in Sinnoh"

Dawn, snapping back into reality after seeing Ash carried off by his Pokèmon, looked down at the two who were now looking back up at her. "Wow, you two sure do have a lot of Pokèmon in common. You both have a Squirtle as well right?"

"Yep, I have mine with me but his is currently in Vermillion City acting as the head of the firefighting squad there."

"I wonder if they would make as cute a couple as these two do." She said with a smile.

Ash's Bulbasaur looked taken aback by the comment while mine gave me an accusing glare at me. I could only shake my head at her hoping that she understood that I didn't let her secret out. But it looked as if the comment was just a side thought of Dawn's as she then proceeded to play with the unofficial couple.

A few minutes later Ash was finally able to return with Bayleef right alongside him. She was almost looking as if she was babying him over what had just happened. "Well I should have seen that one coming." He said with a nervous laugh. "So let's get this started. Come on out everyone!" He tossed his Pokèballs into the air.

Out of his five Pokèballs came a large variety of Pokèmon. The first I already knew, his Aipom, as soon as it came out she happily ran up to her trainer and climbed up onto his head. The next looked like a small turtle with trees growing on its back; the third was a large grey bird with a red crest on its head; number four was a feline-like Pokèmon with a long tail and three yellow stripes on each of its front legs. But his last Pokèmon was what surprised me, out popped a Lucario who immediately jumped and kneeled at his trainer's side. "Lucario, how many times do I have to tell you, you don't need to do that." Ash laughed a little. "I guess he's always seen me more like a general or leader than as a friend or partner. But he is nice once he opens up to you."

I took out my Pokèdex and scanned all of his Pokèmon; the little computer whirred as it processed the information. It gave off a small beep as it locked in the data, it then started to flash through the pictures of the Pokèmon before it, "Grotile, the Grove Pokèmon; Staraptor, the Predator Pokèmon; Luxray, the Gleam Eyes Pokèmon."

"Wow, nice collection you got Ash. Now I guess it's my turn, alright everyone, take the stage!" As I threw my five into the air and they popped open to revel my pride and joys. Out of the first one came Blaziken, one of my most powerful and not to mention my very first Pokèmon. Next came my Squirtle, she still hasn't evolved but that just makes her cuter I guess. Third came my Snorlax, having evolved from my Munchlax during my travels in Johto. And finally my last two neither Ash nor Dawn have seen before. The first was a Vulpix whose six tails seemed to sparkle in the afternoon light. She is almost as much of an attention hoard as Eevee is but she can put on some very good shows with her fire. But it was my last Pokèmon that was impressive enough to put nearly every other Pokèmon there to shame, as she came out of her ball a glitter of water droplets scattered about and the gem on her neck shone with a rainbow of colors. She was my Dragonair, the only other one of my Pokèmon that can compete with Snorlax and Blaziken in strength, but unlike them she has yet to loose an appeal round.

Ash and Dawn were speechless at the sight of my Pokèmon; Ash was the first to speak up.

"May, you've caught some impressive Pokèmon. I can probably guess that the Snorlax is your old Munchlax?"

"Sure enough, that large oaf used to be my little Munchlax."

"I can't believe it; all of your Pokèmon are so beautiful!" Dawn finally got out, running to inspect each one.

"So how did you get a Dragonair?" Ash asked while watching Dawn as she was shouting praises at each of my Pokèmon. "I've wanted a dragon type for a long time now but have never gotten anywhere near catching one."

"Actually I got her as an egg from a couple right outside of Goldenrod City as part of a prize for a local contest. They didn't know what would come out of the egg so naturally neither did I when I received it, but it didn't take too long before it hatched. Drew was instantly jealous of me because he thought that that contest was going to be a waste of his time, but after Dratini came out of her egg he tried so hard to try and get me to trade it to him. Obviously I outright refused. I used her quite a bit during my journey and while we were in Blackthorn City she evolved into Dragonair during my final contest before the Grand Festival."

"So how did Drew win when you had her?"

"Well she was too injured after the fight with Solidad's Lapras and I couldn't use her in time against Drew." I replied, reliving the painful moments.

"Well I'm sorry to hear that. Dawn I think its time to release your Pokèmon."

"Huh? Oh, right. Come on out everyone!"

So Dawn finally let her Pokèmon out of their Pokèballs. From her Pokèmon I could only recognize one of them, a Buizel. The other ones included a white and blue penguin with a small double crest, a white and blue squirrel, and a brown bunny with the cutest little puff balls you could ever see.

"Wow! They are so cute!" I just couldn't resist saying it out loud as I ran up to the bunny. I again used my Pokèdex to scan them. "Prinplup, the Penguin Pokèmon; Pachirisu, the EleSquirrel Pokèmon; Buneary, the Rabbit Pokèmon."

"Well thanks May, but with the exception of Buizel, I have some trouble battling with them at times. They are good at the appeals round though." Dawn said with an embarrassed look on her face. "Besides, you could probably beat me in a contest any day of the week."

"Well I've just had more experience than you at contests, and the reason that I'm good with battling is because I had a very good teacher." As I looked over at Ash he started to blush and turn his head. I could see Pikachu give him a pat on the back trying to cheer him up. _"I wonder what's wrong with Ash. All I said was that he makes a good teacher."_

"Alright guys, lets have some fun!" Ash said, spinning around with a large smile on his face. "We have all day and nothing to do; the dance isn't for another couple weeks so as long as we leave in a couple days we will have plenty of time to make it there. So we can spend this time reacquaint ourselves and meet the new friends." It was obvious that he was trying to change the subject, but I figured that I had no reason to pursue the subject so I let it slip.

* * *

Between playing with our Pokèmon and conversing amongst ourselves, the rest of the day flew by. Before we knew it, Mrs. Ketchum had brought supper for everyone so we could eat at the lab, and as always her cooking is only bested by Brock's. As night began to fall and the Pokèmon tired themselves out we found ourselves sitting by a fire continuing with the many stories of our adventures during the last year. After about an hour of listening to Dawn's stories I caught myself starting to zone out so I excused myself and went to find a more relaxing place. I found myself wandering off towards the pond that Ash's and my Bulbasaur call home. When I finally got to the pond I laid down and just stared up at the full moon sitting directly overhead. Closing my eyes I just let myself relax and listen to the sounds of the many Pokèmon as they go about their nightly routines.

_"This is a very nice place they have here. Not as pretty as back home but it definitely comes close."_

I just then heard a few branches snap behind me and I twisted around to see who it was, but it was just my Bulbasaur along with Ash's. Probably out for a late night stroll, they looked as surprised to see me as I was of them.

"Well I guess we are here for the same reason, to get some private time to think."

"Bulba."

They came up and sat down, one on each side of me and seemed to just relax into my sides, _"What is it with Ash's Pokèmon and being so comfortable around me?"_ I wondered as I started to pet them.

"Well at least you two know where you are going in life. I on the other hand have no boyfriend, am running out of new regions to attend contests, and if this continues I won't even have a date for the championship dance." I gave a big sigh. "Well at least I can always count on my Pokèmon for support."

They both looked up as I said that.

"Well that's something that I've had to rely on more and more for the past year. You have no idea how hard it is to accomplish things without the constant support of your friends. I know that they were cheering for me from where they were but it makes the difference when you can see and hear them in person, especially the loud cheering of your obnoxious trainer." I said with a smile. "I could always hear his voice over everyone else's voice in the stadium."

"May?"

I looked up from the two Pokèmon to the direction that I heard the voice. I knew who it belonged to but I wasn't expecting to hear his voice out here.

"I'm over here Ash." I called back.

"Let's just keep that last part between us." I whispered to Ash's Bulbasaur.

"Bulba." He nodded.

"Thanks Bulbasaur, I'm just not sure if he would take it the right way."

I then saw Ash exit the denser portion of the forest and walk into the clearing. In the moonlight I could just make out his auburn eyes and his messy black hair. He walked over next to his Bulbasaur and sat down next to him. As he started to pet his Bulbasaur he began to talk to me.

"So this is where you have been hiding. Got a little bored with Dawn's stories?"

"Ya, sorry to say but she isn't the best person to talk to for stuff like that."

"No arguments here." He looked around the pond, "Isn't it beautiful here May? I can see why our Bulbasaur like it here."

"Ya it is, and the moonlight is just seems to enhance everything." Ash nodded in agreement, but I wasn't looking at the pond when I said that. For some reason I was looking over at Ash as he just stared off over the water.

_"Why am I saying stuff like that? Do I like Ash? Well I guess he is kinda cute, and it would make our Bulbasaur happy for us to be together. Heck maybe it would make some of our other Pokèmon find happiness together as well."_ I couldn't help but give a small smile along with a slight blush; thankfully it was still dark enough so that Ash wouldn't notice.

"So May have you picked out someone to go to the dance with yet?"

"No, not yet."

"Not even Drew?"

"Well let's just say he's the last of last resorts."

"That's good to hear."

"How about you Ash? Do you have anyone in mind?"

"I do have someone in mind, but I haven't asked her yet."

"So why haven't you?"

"Well I'm not completely sure; it might be because I don't know how she will react to me asking her."

"So is the great Ash Ketchum scared of asking a girl out on a date?" I joked.

"No, it's just that, um…"

"Ha, you are. So you can face down the best Pokèmon trainers in world without breaking a sweat but you can't ask a girl a simple question."

"Alright fine then, I will." He then got up and stood in front of me, needless to say I was quite shocked by this. "May, would you accompany me to the Valentine's Day dance?"

While this was what I was silently hoping for I would never have dreamed that it was actually happening. It took me a second to put it all together, but it took all my will power to keep from overreacting.

"Alright Ash, I accept. I would be happy to go with you to the dance." I said with a simple smile. "See that wasn't too hard now was it?"

_"YES! He actually asked me! I can't believe he asked me of all people. Well that takes care of one of my problems at least, and I don't have to worry about my own fear of asking him. And most importantly I don't have to ask Drew."_

It looked as if the weight of the world was lifted off of his shoulders after he asked it as he dropped himself back down to the ground. "Oh thank you May. I'm not sure who I would ask if you said no, and that was part of the reason that I was nervous to ask."

"Well now you can relax, and if you haven't noticed our witnesses are happy at the decision. So that should have eased your mind a little bit."

"I guess, but it still wasn't easy you know. And why are you two so happy about this?" At that question our Bulbasaur looked at each other, nodded their heads, and walked back into the forest. "You think that they are hiding something from us?"

I quickly shook my head, "Of course not, why would our Pokèmon do that to us?"

He nodded his head in agreement, "I guess you're right. So what are you going to do with your ticket then?"

"Well I'll most likely give it to Dawn. She really looks like she wants to go and I figured she might as well be able to go with us."

"That's real nice of you May.' He said with a smile on his face as he got up and brushed off his pants. "Well it's getting late so I'm going to start heading back home; you want to walk back with me?" As he said this he extended his hand out to me.

"Sure Ash, I'd be happy to." I took his hand as he helped me up and we started to walk back to his house.

"Um May? Why are you still holding my hand?" He asked as we got into the forest.

"No reason. Why, don't you like it?" I asked him with a touch of sweetness in my voice.

"Umm, no it's fine, you can keep your hand there is you want."

I could tell that he was uncomfortable and could probably guess that he was blushing but he wasn't pulling away so I kept my hand there. While he may have found it uncomfortable, at that moment I felt secure and safe as we walked back to his house.

_"I could get used to this. Well tomorrow is going to be a big day, I have a lot of shopping to do."_

After we got back to his house we both went upstairs to prepare for bed. I stood outside the guest room door, which I was now sharing with Dawn, and looked back at Ash.

"Thanks again Ash for asking me. I really appreciate it." I then did something that I never thought that I would do, at least not anytime soon; I gave him a small kiss on the cheek before I opened the door. He looked shocked at what just happened and I didn't even try to hide my blush. "Good night Ash."

"G-Good night May." He finally got out.

As I entered the room and closed the door behind me I gave a silent "yes" and walked in with a large smile on my face.

"Well, well, well; someone is very happy tonight. So what happened between you and Ash?"

The voice surprised me and I looked down at the floor where Dawn was sitting on her sleeping bag, apparently she was still awake and caught at least a little bit of what just had just transpired.

"Well what happened?" She repeated.

"Alright, I'll tell you." I say in a slightly giddy voice. "And there is something in it for you as well."

"So out with it already!"

"Okay, well while Ash and I were out near the pond at Professor Oak's lab with our Bulbasaur, he asked me out to the dance!"

"Oh man! He actually asked you! I can't believe it! He always seemed like the kind of person who would take forever to finally choose a girlfriend."

"Girlfriend! All he did was ask me to the dance!"

"Okay fine, so then how am I apart of this then?"

"Well, each ticket allows one person and a guest to attend." I could see Dawn's eyes widen as she already started to put the pieces together. "I will be using Ash's ticket to get in and I will be giving my ticket to you."

"Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You don't know how much this means to me May!" She nearly screamed as she ran up and gave me a hug.

"Well I guess I have some idea now." I say with a nervous laugh. "So lets get some sleep and we can shop for dresses tomorrow."

"That's one thing I could never disagree on."

So I then got ready for bed and picked Eevee up for her to join me on the bed. As soon as she was on the sheets she made herself a little nest and fell right to sleep. "Good night Dawn. See you in the morning."

"Good night May, good night Eevee."

* * *

The next morning I woke up to find that Dawn was already gone and her sleeping bag was rolled up in the corner. Eevee was still next to me, sound asleep as always.

_"Well I can let her sleep for a little while longer at least."_ I thought as I got some new clothes and a towel.

After my shower I came back to find that Eevee was still alone in the room and was still sleeping. "Alright, I gave you enough time. I'm not going to allow you to sleep that long today. I need your help in picking out a good dress for the dance." I said as I shook her awake. Like yesterday she looked at me lazily, but she knew that this was too important for me so she didn't argue like her routine usually was. She gave a quick yawn and stretch and looked ready to start the day. So I finished my morning routine and we headed down for breakfast.

Apparently I was the last one to wake up because as I got down to the kitchen they were all there starting to eat.

"I was wondering when you would be getting up May." Dawn said as she poured syrup onto her pancakes.

"Well I was very comfortable last night, and I had no reason to get out of bed until now." I replied.

"Well sit down and eat dear, before the food gets cold." Mrs. Ketchum said as she brought in another stack of pancakes. By this time I couldn't refuse her cooking so I happily sat down to eat. But unlike the others I tried to rush my way though the meal. I had other things to do today, and after only a few minutes I finished up my plate and took it to the sink. After that I started to pull Dawn away from the table.

"Hey, what the…" She tried to say.

"Come on Dawn we have a big day today. Eevee we're leaving!"

I pulled Dawn to the door so we could get our shoes and leave. While I was putting mine on Eevee jumped up to her usual place and by this time Dawn had figured arguing was pointless so she just went along with it.

We opened the door to run out but nearly ran into someone just about to ring the doorbell.

"Sorry Brock, no time to talk. I'll see ya later!" I yelled as we raced off towards the nearest mall. I could only guess at what was going through his mind at that moment.

We started to slow down just outside of Pallet Town so that we wouldn't tire ourselves out too much.

"May we didn't have to rush out like that; we have the entire day to shop for our new dresses." Dawn finally said.

"Maybe, but I still want to get there as soon as I can. I mean can you say that you are not excited about getting a new dress for this?"

"Well I can't deny that, but we could have at least said a better hello to Brock."

"He'll be fine. Besides Ash and his mom can fill him in on any questions he might have."

"So what is the real reason you are so excited? Is it because you get to buy the new dress and be at an exclusive ball? Or is it because you get to dress up and dance with your new boyfriend?"

"How many times do I have to say it, he is not my boyfriend!"

"Right… So who are you trying to convince, me or you?"

"You of course!"

"Well then you are doing a fairly lousy job of it."

"Oh fine, I think he's cute. Does that satisfy you? But he is not my boyfriend!"

_"Though I don't think I would mind being his girlfriend."_

"Well at least it's a start. But I'm willing to bet that deeper down you feel more than just that."

"Alright then, how about we stop peering into my life and ask a few questions about yours? Let's start with if you have a crush on someone."

She started to blush and mumbled something.

"Well I take that as a yes but now you are trying to hide something."

"Okay fine, I guess it's only fair. Back in Sinnoh Ash had a rival by the name of Paul."

"I remember him talking about that guy a few times. They never did get along too well did they?"

"Well no, but he was kinda cute. And he does have a soft side; he just doesn't show it too often." Her face started to blush an even deeper red. "But you can't tell anyone I said that!"

"Fine, as long as you don't tell anyone about what I said about Ash."

"Deal."

"So why don't you ask Paul to go with you then?"

"Well he was invited but he ripped up his ticket saying that he had no use to go to a dance. So I'll probably just let Brock go with me, there's no sense in leaving him outside."

"True, just make sure that he knows he's with you. You might want to take Croagunk with just to make sure he keeps Brock's mind from wondering."

"I was thinking the exact same thing."

We both started to laugh at the expense of our friend. After a few minutes we could finally see the mall and ran the rest of the way there. When we finally got to the mall the first place the two of us went was to a high-end clothing store to try and find our new dresses. For hours we tried on dresses but could not find the right ones that would make us the jewels of the dance.

But after a few hours of searching and switching stores several times I was finally able to find one I liked.

"So Dawn, what do you think of this one?" I asked as I stepped out of the fitting room. Her eyes pretty much told me what I was hoping for.

"Dear god, if you were able to find that here I have got to be able to find one as well. It looks perfect, and I guarantee that Ash's jaw will drop at the sight of you." She then rushed back to the racks to try and find another dress.

"_Well I wouldn't have gone that far but I do like the dress."_ I thought as I looked onto the mirror. It was a bright red dress with an open back and no sleeves. The length was just right as it came down to my knees and was conservative up top but not too much with a v-neck front. At that moment I didn't care what the price was for it, this was now my dress and all I could hope for was for Ash to like it.

"So what do you think Eevee?" I asked as I looked down at one of my most faithful Pokèmon.

"Vee!"

"Well at least half of my intended audience likes it." I said with a smile.

"Alright, how about mine then?" I could hear Dawn ask as she exited her dressing room. I looked over at her and was impressed by the one she picked out. It was like mine but it was white with the bottom flowing further away from her legs and it had sleeves that covered her shoulders. She gave a little twirl to let the dress flare up.

"Very nice, with these dresses we will be the envy of everyone at the dance. Now we just need a few finishing touches and we're done." I said while turning to look back at the mirror. _"Well Ash, I just hope that you like this as well. Because maybe, just maybe, by the end of this I might not be alone anymore."_

* * *

And that's chapter number two, hope everyone liked it. Chapter three has already been started so it should be up in a couple days. As before criticism is accepted and appreciated, but flames will still be ignored. Thanks for reading and please review.


	3. An Unforgettable Morning

Here be chapter three. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and thanks again to bbbstrwbrry for catching my mistake with May's Squirtle. The last thing I would want is to halt any chance for Squirtshipping, even though it really isn't extrapolated here. So I hope you guys like this chapter, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokèmon or its characters.

* * *

When Dawn and I finally got back to the Ketchum residence I couldn't help but feel a little depressed. We entered the family room and sat down on the couch.

"Its okay May, you'll find the right stuff eventually." Dawn said trying to reassure me.

"I know but its still depressing to think after all of that I still couldn't find anything." I said to my friend as I put my head into my hands.

"Sorry for interrupting girls, but what's so depressing?" Mrs. Ketchum asked as she came out of the kitchen.

"Well it has to do with the dress that I bought today." I respond, looking up at her. Eevee started to lick my hand, no doubt trying to cheer me up.

"Well I have some tea boiling so why don't we talk about it in the kitchen," she said with a smile.

_"She's just like a second mother."_ I thought as I got up to follow her into the kitchen.

As we sat down at the table and Mrs. Ketchum poured us some tea I finally started to relax. "Alright dear tell me the whole story."

"After running to the mall and hours of searching we were finally found the perfect dresses for the championship dance." I stoped and could feel myself blush a little. _"I wonder if she knows about Ash and I going together yet."_

But Mrs. Ketchum seemed to know exactly what I was thinking. "Don't worry I know all about you and Ash going to the dance together, and I have no problem with it. So please continue."

I felt a little relieved at hearing that she already knew but at the same time I was still nervous about another fact. _"I wonder exactly what she's thinking about with us going together. Knowing her she's probably thinking it's more than just two friends going to a party. Oh well I guess there's nothing I can do about that now, I might as well continue."_

"Sorry, so we found the perfect dresses for the dance so we started to look for accessories to go along with them. Dawn was able to find plenty of things to go with her dress. While I was able to find some elbow length white gloves and shoes to go along with mine, I wasn't able to find anything else to match that I liked. I looked at almost every store I could find but there wasn't a single necklace or pair of earrings that I liked." I placed my head back into my hands. Eevee jumped up onto the table to once again try and cheer me up.

"_I don't know what I would do without you."_ I thought as she tries to cuddle up into my arms. So I give in and put Eevee into my lap, it's her favorite spot when we weren't traveling. She just cooed as she made herself more comfortable. I couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Well don't worry too much about it dear; things like this always seem to work themselves out." She told me with a smile.

"So what happened to Ash and Brock?" Dawn questioned.

"Oh they should be back soon; they went out to buy supplies for the trip up to the Indigo Plateau. Now would you two like to help me fix dinner for them? I always love having a few helping hands."

"Sure!" We both jumped at the idea.

_"At least this will help get my mind off of my dilemma. Maybe Mrs. Ketchum is right; hopefully this should just solve itself."_

* * *

Well I could swear that Ash has some sort of homing instinct for food because as soon as we finished cooking I could hear him and Brock walked into the house.

"Wow Mom great timing." Ash said as he walked into the kitchen. "So did May help out this time as well?"

"Yes she did, and she wasn't the only one."

"Wow, May and Dawn cooking, what's next? Armageddon?" Brock joked as he entered the kitchen with several bags of food.

"Ha ha very funny Brock. Well maybe we should just take Mrs. Ketchum along as our cook next time instead of you." I shot back.

"Ouch that hurts," he laughed, "It's nice to see you again May."

"It's nice to see you too Brock. It's been far too long."

"Yes it has. So I've heard a few impressive things about you lately. First you came in second in the Johto Grand Festival. Second you were able to get a Pokèmon that Ash has been dreaming about for years.'

"Hey, I'm not that jealous of her Dragonair." Ash said while folding his arms.

"Sure you aren't, you only spent the last hour talking about May and her Dragonair cause there was nothing better to talk about, right?"

Ash mumbled something as he looked away from us. Brock gave a quick laugh as he continued, "And lastly you have been invited to one of the most exclusive dances of the year. And not only that, but your date is the Sinnoh champion himself."

I could feel my face heat up with his praises. "Well it's not all that big of a deal."

"Don't sell yourself short; there are only a handful of people that can attend it."

"And you are one of them." Dawn cut in.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Well because both Ash and May have a ticket, they don't need both of them. So May gave her ticket to me and you are going to be my date to the dance."

"That sounds more like a command than a request." He said sweat dropping.

"You could say that." Dawn said with a mischievous smile on her face.

"Okay moving on, Brock and I were thinking that we should leave tomorrow so that we get to the plateau in time." Ash said trying to change the subject.

"Sure, I think that could work. After supper we can go and pick the Pokèmon that we will bring with us." I added in. "But first let's eat up, I know for a fact that you guys are hungry."

As if answering my statement Ash's stomach gave a loud growl.

"Well I think you have my answer May," he replied while looking very embarrassed. I couldn't help but laugh a little at his predicament. "What? Is it my fault that my stomach can't wait to have some of your cooking?"

I instantly stopped laughing, _"Wait, did he just say that he likes my cooking_?_"_ I looked around. No one else seemed to have noticed what he said. _"I wonder if heard him correctly. I just hope my mind isn't starting to play tricks on me."_

So everyone finally quieted down and we sat down to eat. After everyone was done we cleaned up the dishes and the whole gang headed over to Professor Oak's lab so that we could pick up our Pokèmon.

As we entered the lab fields I made sure to keep my eyes open just to make sure that I didn't get tackled or trampled. Eevee and Pikachu also looked very alert, so at least I wasn't alone in my precautions.

"So May what Pokèmon are you going to take with you?" Ash asked.

"Well I'll be taking Eevee for sure, but I'm not planning for any battles so I'll probably leave most of my Pokèmon here for now. So other that Eevee, I'll take Vulpix and Dragonair. Blaziken would like it here to relax, Squirtle will have fun with the other water Pokèmon, and Snorlax will barely know the difference as long as she gets enough to eat. So how about you?"

"Well unlike you I probably won't be as lucky at avoiding battles so I will need a high power team. Pikachu is the unspoken choice."

"Pika!"

"Then I would want the three basic elements, so Sceptile, Cyndaquil, and Totodile will be coming. I haven't used Swellow in a while so I think I'll take him as well. And finally I think I'll take Lucario."

"Well that definitely sounds like a powerful team, definitely worthy for the winner of the Sinnoh league."

"Thanks May." He said while a small blush formed on his face.

"Well let's get our Pokèmon and head back. We need to get a good night sleep before we set out tomorrow." Brock informed us. So we hurried up to get our Pokèmon and headed back to Ash's house.

* * *

The next day we left the Ketchum residence bright and early to start heading out to the Indigo Plateau. Sure enough along the way there were many people who recognized Ash and challenged him to battle. After a particularly fierce battle Ash's Cyndaquil evolved into Quilava to defeat a Staryu. There were actually a few times when a couple of people challenged Ash to a double battle. In those instances I took the place of his partner using Dragonair. She, along with Ash's Pokèmon, were more than enough for every challenger that came up. After almost two weeks of traveling we finally reached the Indigo Plateau just as evening was setting in.

"Well we're finally here." Ash said.

"Yep, it's been over a year since the last time that we've came here. And it's still as impressive as always." I respond. "Last one to the hotel is a rotten Exeggcute!"

"Hey May wait up!"

With my early start, and after all the races I've had with Eevee, I was able to get to the hotel before any of them. "Ha! I guess I've learned a lot from all those races that you've won." I said to Eevee who was still sitting on my shoulder.

"May! I knew that you would be here!" A somewhat masculine voice called out.

_"Oh dear god no. Anyone but him."_

Sure enough he came running up next to me, the green haired narcissistic coordinator who couldn't seem to make up his mind on which he loves more, me or himself.

"Drew, what a surprise, I didn't realize that you would actually come." I replied with a fake smile.

_"And that is the worst type of surprise. I guess I shouldn't have gotten so far in front of the others."_

"I wouldn't miss this for the world, hello again Eevee." He held out his hand to pet her but she just snapped at him, missing by less than an inch. He quickly pulled his hand away.

"Eevee now why did you do that?" I said aloud while taking her off of my shoulder and holding her in front of my face.

"Good girl, keep it up." I whispered to her as I continued to pretend to scold her.

"I'm sorry Drew she's usually friendlier than this." I say putting Eevee back onto her usual spot.

"Right." He looked at Eevee for a while but just shook it off. He then took a rose out of his pocket and looked back at me, "So May, getting to the reason why I ran up to meet you, I was wondering, would you like the honor of being my date for the dance?"

_"Would you like the honor? Wow has this guy has reached a new low. I can't wait to see he reaction when I tell him I already have a date."_

"I'm sorry Drew but I already have a date for the dance." It didn't seem to have as much of an affect as I was hoping.

"What, you have a date?" He just laughed. "Ya right, who would want a second rate coordinator as his date? And besides, thousands of girls would kill to become my date for this dance; you should feel honored that I'm even asking you."

_"Second rate! How dare he call me second rate! Oh I'll make him regret the day that he even..."_

"So than why don't you ask one of them to go with you Drew?"

The voice made me look back, Ash and the others had finally caught up to me.

"What was that Ketchum? Don't tell me that you are this pathetic excuse of a coordinator's date!"

"Actually you're right, my date isn't with any second rate coordinator. My date is with one of the best coordinators of her time, and she wouldn't waste her evening with someone like you."

"Waste her time? I'm giving her the opportunity…" Drew was really starting to get mad. I could only inwardly smile at his current predicament as Ash was able to play him like a well tuned piano.

"Well actually that's where you have it wrong Drew. She didn't lose the opportunity to go with you; you lost the opportunity to become her date." Ash said with a smug smile on his face.

"Fine, like I said any girl would kill to become my date!" He turned to Dawn and extended the rose to her. "Hey there, the name's Drew. I'm currently the Johto Grand Festival Cup holder. What's your name?"

"Um, not interested. I've heard enough about you to know your true colors." Dawn said pushing the rose away. That just got Drew steamed but he was able to regain his pose fairly quickly.

"Alright fine! Yet another girl that has lost the chance of a lifetime. So to you all I bid farewell." He then walked off into the crowd.

"Thanks for the rescue Ash, another second with him and I would have tried to punch his lights out."

"It's no problem May, as I've said before he knows how to push your buttons perfectly so don't feel too bad. And besides, what kind of date would I be if I let him belittle you like that?"

I started to feel a blush coming to my face as he said that. "Well I think that we should check into the hotel so we can drop off our stuff and get some sleep. Then tomorrow we can explore the stores and attractions before we have to get ready for the dance."

"That's a good idea May." Brock chimed in, "Do we have reservations for one of the hotels?"

"Actually each ticket has its own room assigned to it. So there's no need to worry about reservations or anything." Ash replied.

"Well then let's get to it!" Dawn yelled enthusiastically as she ran to the large building in front of us. We all just shook our heads and followed her into the hotel.

* * *

We walked into the main lobby of the hotel after showing our tickets to a couple guards; it was a lot fancier than the place we stayed at when I was here for my second Grand Festival. There weren't too many people around but I guess that was the idea considering that there was going to be a lot of up and coming trainers and coordinators here so privacy was a top priority. We approached the reception desk where a girl of about twenty was working.

"Hi we're here to check into our rooms and…" Ash started to say but was soon interrupted by Brock.

"And I was wondering if you would be willing to go to the dance with..."

Brock stopped in mid sentence as he started to turn a slight shade of purple. I looked down to see his Croagunk standing there with one of his hands glowing. Soon after, Brock fell down to the ground and his Pokèmon started to pull him away while his body was still twitching.

"Remember, you're here with me, and I've asked Croagunk to keep a close eye on you. So no womanizing!" Dawn called out to Brock as he was dragged away.

"Sorry about that Miss. As I was saying, we are here to check into our rooms." Ash said with a look of embarrassment on his face.

"Sure thing. Can I get your names and ticket please?" She replied while turning to her computer.

"Well here's our ticket and my name is Ash Ketchum and this is May Maple."

"One moment please. Okay everything appears to be in order. Your room is on the ninth floor, here are your keys." She said as she handed us some card keys. "Oh and you have a package Miss Maple."

"Huh? I wasn't expecting anything." I replied as I stepped forward.

"Well I have a package here for a Miss May Maple." She said as she handed me the small box. "Please enjoy your stay here."

I looked at the box and saw that it was from my parents. _"I'll open it once we get settled in a little."_ I thought as I put it into my backpack.

Dawn was able to check in with no problem, her and Brock were located just down the hall from our room. Just before the three of us started to head off to our rooms Brock came walking back looking very sick.

"Well have you learned your lesson?" Dawn asked.

"I know. I won't go after any other women while we are here."

"Good boy. Remember, if it wasn't for me you wouldn't be here right now."

"And if May didn't give you her ticket neither would you."

"Touché, but it is my ticket now. So let's go find our room."

So now completely back together we all set out to find our rooms. Ash and I found ours while Dawn and Brock went on to find their own. We opened the door to the room and were amazed at what we saw.

"Wow, this is huge!" I yelled as I ran into the room. Sure enough the room that was reserved for us was a high class suite; there was a large living room with several chairs and a large TV, a balcony, and a bedroom with a gigantic king sized bed. Eevee jumped off of my shoulder and ran over to the bed to make herself comfortable. But there was one problem.

"Um Ash? There's only one bed." I said rather flatly.

He walked up and looked into the bedroom. "Well I guess that's what we get for not actually reserving a room. We can figure out the sleeping arrangements later, I need to go to the Pokèmon Center to get my Pokèmon healed. They haven't had a good rest since Viridian City. Do you want me to take any of yours?"

"Well would you mind taking my Dragonair? She wasn't in too many battles, but a nice rest would do her loads of good." I said as I hand him Dragonair's Pokèball.

"No problem May. I'll see ya in about an hour." And with that he left the room. I walked over to the bed and lay down next to Eevee.

"I think that I already know what he's planning for tonight considering his reaction when he learned of the one bed. He will put on the nice guy routine and offer to sleep on the floor or on one of the chairs. Well I can't let him be the only nice guy, now can I?" I gave a smile to Eevee who seemed to agree with me. I then head a knock at our door. _"It's most likely Dawn or Brock."_ So I got up to answer the door. Sure enough as I open it Dawn stormed in.

"I can't believe it!" She called out as she sat down on one of the chairs.

"Let me guess, there was only one bed?" I replied, giving a little laugh.

"That and you guys got a bigger room than us." She said giving me a smile.

"So what are you going to do about the sleeping issue then?"

"Oh that's easy; he will sleep on the floor while I get the bed. Now for the bigger question, seeing as you were able to guess my dilemma I'm guessing that you guys have only one bed too?"

"Ya, and your point?"

"Well are you going to be going further with Ash then?"

My face instantly turned red. "I can't believe that you are even thinking that! All I said was that he was cute, I never said that I would sleep with him!"

"Well I was just thinking of you two sharing the bed as friends, you were the one who thought of taking it to the next step." She said while giving a sly smile.

With that I turned even redder. "Getting off that topic, I'm guessing that there was another reason that you came for a visit?"

"Yep, I was wondering what was in that package you got."

"Oh ya, I almost forgot about it." I rummaged through my backpack and found the small box. "It's from my parents."

I opened the brown paper wrapping and the cardboard box to reveal three smaller velvet boxes and a note. I opened the note and read it.

_"Dear May, first of all congratulations on making it to second place in the Johto Grand Festival, we haven't talked in such a long time. Virtually everyone knows about the championship dance and all of us back at home are very proud of you for making it to the dance. I also have heard that Ash has asked you to go with him, good for you; he always was a nice boy. This will probably be a night that you will remember for the rest of your lives, so enjoy it. Second I heard from a very reliable source that you were missing something for your dress. Inside the boxes I have given you something of mine that I know you have had your eye on for a while, I even got something for Eevee. Think of them as early birthday presents. I know that they will look great on you guys. I hope that you have fun at the dance, come home and visit soon. Love Mom P.S. I know that you will knock Ash dead when he finally sees you, go get him honey!"_

_"Well I guess her and Mrs. Ketchum had a long talk while we were traveling. And why does everyone think that he's my boyfriend!"_

"Well what's the letter say?" Dawn asked.

"Well apparently my mom and Mrs. Ketchum had a talk while we were getting here. Still not exactly sure what is in the boxes though."

"Well open them then."

"Alright," I pulled the velvet boxes out of the package, "let's just see what you guys are."

As I opened the long box I couldn't believe my eyes, inside the box was one of my mom's necklaces. She was right; this was my favorite of all of her necklaces. It was silver with a snowflake pattern pendant decorated with bright blue sapphires and many small diamonds. Dawn looked over to see exactly what it was.

"Wow, it's beautiful. Your mom gave you that?"

I was speechless. _"I can't believe that she actually gave me this."_

"Hello? May, you there?"

"Um ya, I'm still a little shocked at this."

"Well do you want to open the other two boxes?"

"Right." I almost didn't want to as I was still trying to get over the first box. But I opened the other two because I was still curious at what they had inside. The smallest box contained my mom's earrings that matched the necklace and the last box had a matching collar for Eevee, each was decorated with the bright blue sapphires and small diamonds like the necklace.

"Your mom must really love you if she sent these over."

"Ya and getting these just makes me miss her more."

"Well I guess Mrs. Ketchum was right, it did resolve itself without you needing to do anything. And you should knock Ash dead with these!"

"That's exactly what my mom said in her letter."

"Well great minds think alike. Now we should put these away before the boys get back, I know that you want to save them for tomorrow."

"Sure I just want to check one thing. Eevee, could you come in here?"

Moments latter my little Evolution Pokèmon pranced into the room. I took out her new collar and showed it to her.

"Well what do you think of this? Mom sent it; it matches some of the other jewelry she sent me. Do you like it?"

Eevee gave it a few sniffs but didn't seem to know exactly what it was. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Here let me show you what it is." Picking her up and placing her on my lap I put it on her neck. After it was secure I then brought her to a mirror. "So how do you like it?"

Eevee seemed to just look at herself as she turned to get different angles. "Vee!" She finally replied jumping up to my shoulder and rubbing her face against mine.

"Well I'm glad you like it, you will be wearing it as we go to the dance tomorrow night." I took the collar off and put all the jewelry away in a place where Ash won't find it before tomorrow night.

"Hey May lets sit out on the balcony until the guys come back. It's still a nice day out and I bet it would be fun watching everybody down there."

"Sure, this could also help me collect my thoughts."

So for the next hour we just sat out on our balcony watching the people below. At about seven the guys came back in with Brock looking a little sick. Dawn and I just looked at each other and gave a big sigh.

"Come on girls, we should find a place to eat." Ash called out from the doorway. "Brock and I were thinking of heading to the hotel's restaurant on the first floor. Most of the food there should be free."

"Well I can never turn down free food. Come on Eevee, Dawn. I'm getting hungry anyways." I say to my friends. As we left I saw where I hid my new jewelry. _"Thanks mom; that means more to me than you can imagine."_

* * *

It was almost nine by the time we got back to our rooms. While I got my bed clothes and a towel to shower before I went to sleep, Ash turned on the TV. By the time I got out and got back to the bedroom I saw him setting up his sleeping bag on the floor.

"And what do you think you're doing?" I asked him as I entered the room.

"Well there is only one bed and I was thinking…"

"Thinking that you would play the hero and let me take the entire bed? Nice try, for one this is your hotel room and you shouldn't have to sleep on the floor. And two, it's a king size bed, there's more than enough room for both of us." As I said this I could feel my face heat up a bit thinking of me and Ash in the same bed. But I tried to clear those thoughts out of my head. "If it makes you feel better we can have Pikachu and Eevee sleep between us."

"Alright fine, I know that once you get something in your head it's pointless to argue the point any further. And the last thing I need right now is to get into an argument with my date." He said as he started to put his sleeping bag away. "But remember, this was your idea." Ash then got into one side of the bed and tried to keep as far to that side as possible. I couldn't help but smile at the thought of how awkward he must feel right now. I got onto my side of the bed and moved closer to the middle so that I was next to Eevee and Pikachu. Eevee moved into my arms and snuggled up into me.

"Good night Ash. Good night Pikachu." I say as I tried to get comfortable.

"Good night May. Good night Eevee." I could hear him say. "Sweet dreams."

"Thanks Ash, you too."

So that's how I fell asleep that night, with my most faithful Pokèmon in my arms and my growing crush sleeping not even a couple feet away.

* * *

I woke up the next morning in a position that wasn't how I fell asleep in. The biggest change was that Eevee wasn't in my arms anymore, in her place was Ash, but instead of my arms around him he had his arms around me. During the night it seemed as if Eevee and Pikachu had moved from the center of the bed to the foot of the bed while Ash had apparently turned in his sleep and wrapped his arms around me. Instead of pulling away from him I found myself moving further into his embrace.

_"Who knew that his chest would feel so warm and comfortable? Well I guess this is yet another thing I could get used to."_ I caught myself thinking that last part and just smiled as I looked further into it. _"Okay so maybe I am falling in love with my best friend, there's no denying that now. I just wonder if he feels the same."_

So for the next hour I just relaxed in his embrace, enjoying the safety and warmth it provided. But after a while I felt him start to stir. _"He's starting to wake up. Lets see how he reacts to this, maybe then I can get a better idea of how he feels."_ So sure enough I just lay there pretending to stay asleep. I could feel him jerk a little, realizing that he probably just noticed the position that he was in. _"I think we can play with him a little."_ So I started to move slightly, making it look like I was starting to wake up. To my surprise he stopped moving and just tightened his embrace slightly.

For what seemed like hours we stayed like that, him not knowing I was awake and me just enjoying his touch. But he then started to loosen his embrace on me, but he did it softly as if he still was trying not to wake me. After I felt his arms completely remove themselves from me I turned over onto my other side still pretending to be asleep. I stayed that way until I heard a door close and the shower turn on.

I then got up and looked around for Eevee. She was still at the foot of our bed but Pikachu wasn't in his spot. _"He's probably with Ash right now, and something tells me that Ash is having a little conversation with him at this very moment."_ I then picked up Eevee and shook her awake.

"Eevee I know that you hate being woken like this but I have something important to tell you." She slowly woke up, but as usual wasn't anywhere near her normal energy level. "Alright lazy bones, I woke up this morning in the most interesting position and I think that you and Pikachu had something to do with it."

That seemed to wake her up instantly.

"Uh huh. I thought as such. I only have one thing to say to you," I then pulled her into a big hug, "Thank you so much! I think I now have an idea of what he thinks of me, and I want to make sure that I'm ready for tonight." I gave her another hug and she seemed to relax. "Well I better get ready; we have a big day today."

A few minutes later I was putting the finishing touched on my hair and before I tied my bandana I could hear Ash come out of the bathroom with Pikachu right behind him. As soon as I caught eye contact with him I just give him a big smile, "Happy Valentine's Day Ash! So you think you're ready for today?"

He turned his head away and mumbled something that sounded like "Ya."

"_He doesn't know. Tonight's the night then."_

"Well come on," I say as I grabbed his hand, "Dawn and Brock are probably waiting for us. Pikachu, Eevee come on we're leaving." And I ran out of the room dragging him by his hand with our Pokèmon following behind.

Sure enough Dawn and Brock were down at the lobby waiting for us to come down. _"I might tell Dawn, if we get away from the guys for long enough."_

* * *

After a quick vote our little group decided to leave the hotel to find a place to eat breakfast. We found a small place to sit down and eat outside of the normal areas that one might associate with the busy Indigo Plateau. But as we talked about what we expected to happen tonight Ash stayed fairly quiet during the entire meal. I began to worry that maybe I shouldn't have played with him like that this morning. After we finished easting I finally got the courage to ask him.

"Ash are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh sorry May, ya I'm fine. I just have a lot going on in my mind."

"Well if there is anyway I can help just ask."

"Thanks May, I'll make sure to keep that in mind."

"_I hope that you understand that that wasn't just any friendly gesture. If you ever need me, I will be there for you. This feeling that I have for you may not be clear to me but I at least know that I don't want to see you like this."_

The rest of the afternoon we just walked around enjoying the sights that the Plateau had to offer. But while everyone else was watching a street performer I was able to slip away and enter a gift shop to find a small gift. I was able to find one fairly quickly, _"Well at least it's easy to shop for him, something simple like this should be enough."_ So I bought the item and rushed back to where the performer was just finishing up.

"May where did you run off to?" Brock asked me as they started to move on.

"I just got lost in the crowd for a while, but I think that we should start heading back to the hotel. The dance will start in a couple hours and I want to make sure that I have enough time to get ready."

"Do you really need two hours?" Ash asked.

"Hey don't you want me to look my best?" I give him a wink.

He instantly turned red, "Um sure, whatever you want May."

* * *

And that ends the third chapter, hope you guys liked it. The dance will finally come next chapter and it looks like it will also be the last chapter. Thanks for reading, please review!


	4. The True Choice

So this is going to be the final chapter. This turned out to be my longest story yet, although it doesn't even compare to some of the others here. Enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokèmon or any of its characters.

* * *

"So where did you really go this afternoon?" Dawn asked.

We were back in my room getting ready for the dance. It was only Dawn, Eevee, and me sitting in our room. Brock and Ash were getting ready in the other hotel room.

"I went to get a small gift."

"For Ash?"

"Yep, I wanted to get him a Valentine's Day present."

"So what ever happened to 'He's not my boyfriend'?"

"Well a little incident this morning made me rethink my opinion of him." I respond with a slight blush forming on my face as I remembered the incident.

"Oh ho, so something did happen in bed last night. So what was it?"

"First and foremost, it's not what you think. It's just that when I woke up this morning, I found myself wrapped in his arms." I couldn't even try to hide my embarrassment of the situation as I spilled it all to Dawn. I found myself unconsciously poking my index fingers into each other.

"Wow Ash really is getting bold."

"Actually, not as much as you might think. He did it in his sleep so he didn't do it consciously, and he might have had some help." I looked over at Eevee. She just gave me an innocent 'who me?' look. Dawn followed my gaze.

"So it really wasn't him that did it."

"Well my guess is that she and Pikachu gently persuaded him to move over while he actually put his arms around me. But that wasn't only thing which convinced me to change my thinking. While there was no comparison for the feeling of actually being held by him, what actually convinced me was when he woke up. When I felt him starting to stir I decided to test him, to find out if he actually did like me more than a friend or if it was just some mistake on his part. So I pretended to stay asleep."

"So what happened then?"

"To put it simply, he passed." I couldn't stop myself from smiling as I said that. "When he woke up he didn't pull away at first, he actually held me tighter. We stayed that way for only about five minutes, but to me it seemed like hours."

"So it looks like the feeling might be mutual."

"Well that's exactly what I'm hoping for."

"By the end of tonight you should hopefully have your answer to that question."

"Ya," I gave a small sigh, "I guess we should finish up, we need to make sure that we look our best for the dance."

* * *

After about an hour Dawn and I were both almost ready for the dance, we just had to put on the finishing details. While she was putting on the last of her makeup I had to get the opinions from two close friends.

"So what do you guys think? Will Ash like it?"

"Vee!"

"Vul!"

I was in the bedroom with Eevee and Vulpix on the bed, watching me as I prepared for the dance. They were my two closest Pokèmon as I traveled though Johto, so I held their opinions very highly. I looked back into the mirror to get another look at myself. I had on my dress that I bought as well as the shoulder length white gloves to go with it. And my mom was right; the jewelry that she gave me looked beautiful. I decided to have my hair down but kept it pulled back out of my face with some Beautifly hair clips.

"Well I'm glad that you guys like it. I just hope Ash does as well." I walked over and sat down on the bed next to them. "The more I think about this the more I want to make sure that Ash likes this. At this point I don't really care too much if I like it. Is this normal?"

They just looked at me, looked at each other, and gave me a really confused look.

"I should have figured that you two couldn't help me too much in that area." I sighed trying to come up with an answer to my current predicament, but there were more important things to worry about right now. "Sorry to say this Vulpix but you need to go back to your Pokèball now. The guys will be here soon and we have to be ready to leave as soon as they get here." Vulpix wasn't too happy to return to her Pokèball, but while she my be stubborn she has never disobeyed me. Besides I didn't need her getting jealous of Eevee's new accessory.

"Well one last thing and you are ready for tonight." I said looking down at Eevee. I got up to go get her new collar and came back to put it on her. "There, perfect as can be." Eevee, being the show off that she is, just had to put on a small twirl to make sure that I knew she looked beautiful. Even in times like this she knew how to make me laugh. "Alright I get it, you look great, now come on Ms. Pokèqueen, let's go get Dawn." So she jumped up onto my shoulder as I headed out of the bedroom.

And with near perfect timing a knock came at the door. I went to go answer it knowing fully well who was on the other side. I opened the door to reveal Ash, Brock, and Pikachu standing in their tuxes. Well only Ash and Brock had a tux on, Pikachu just had a cute little black bow-tie. Both the boys looked great in their outfits, Ash had on a basic black tux while Brock was sporting one in white. As soon as he saw me Ash's jaw nearly dropped.

"May you look great!" He got out.

"You think so?" I asked giving a little twirl.

"Of course, when did you get that necklace?"

"It was a gift from my mom. Do you like it?"

"Of course, it brings out your eyes well." He seemed to stop as soon as he said that and started to close himself off again.

"Don't worry about him May, you look great. Is Dawn ready?" Brock said, always coming to his rescue.

"Yep, I'll go get her and then we can leave."

As I walked back into the room to grab Dawn, I saw that she had apparently just finished up her makeup and was coming out of the bathroom.

"They're here. And if I do say so myself they look perfect." I whispered to her so that the others couldn't hear us.

"So what did Ash say?"

"He was able to say that I looked great and that my necklace accents my eyes. He then embarrassed himself enough that he closed himself off again."

"Don't worry he'll learn. Come on, they're waiting for us."

We got back to the door where Brock was whispering something to Ash; he stopped once we got close.

"You look great too Dawn. So now that everyone is ready, shall we go?" He gave a quick nudge to Ash.

Ash then held his hand out to me, and as he spoke his voice trembled slightly, "Forgive me if I don't do this right but, will the lady accompany me to the dance?"

I looked down to see Pikachu imitating his trainer towards Eevee.

"I would be honored to accompany you." I say accepting his hand. "Now enough with the formalities and lets just go have some fun!" And with that I started to drag him out of the hotel and down to the dance hall.

* * *

By the time we approached the place where the party was going to be held it was already past sunset and there was a large crowd hanging around the entrance. They were swarming around the trainers that were trying to enter the ballroom.

"Well it looks like when they said it was exclusive they meant it." Brock said.

"Ya they aren't even letting the reporters in." Dawn added while starting to pull to the back of our group.

"We just have to ignore them and move right on through." Ash gulped.

"Ya right, you know as well as I do that they are going to have a field day when they see us walking up. I'd be willing to bet that most of the other couples here only have one famous trainer among the two, while both of us are fairly well known." I said as I held on to Ash a little closer, I could feel him tense up a bit. "And not only that but they will be assuming quite a bit off of this."

"Um, right…" He then gave an audible gulp. "W-well do you think we should try to slip in to keep from being seen?"

"No, we should just do like you said before, walk in and ignore them all. We just have to try and keep them from making too many assumptions about us."

"So are you two going to just sit here and talk all night or are we going in?" Brock said as he interrupted us.

"Let's just get this over with." Ash said with a hint of determination.

_"Well at least this distracted Ash from the fact that I was holding him closer than ever. I just wish that you would relax a bit more and enjoy this as I am. By the end of tonight I'm hoping that I no longer have to be alone, and after I ask you I will finally have my answer. I just need the right moment."_

So we did just as Ash suggested, we split up into singles and made our way though the crowd. Dawn and Brock had little trouble getting to the entrance; the reporters there were distracted with more famous people, people like Ash and I. I don't know how many times I was asked "What does it feel like to place second in the Johto Festival?" or "So who are you bringing to the dance tonight?" and the worst of all "Is there anything special between you and your rival Drew?" By the time I reached the door I wanted to strangle nearly everyone there.

Ash must have been able to tell the security guard at the door who he was with because by the time I got there the guard just motioned for me to move in. After I got through the doors and left the commotion behind me I made my way to the ballroom to find my friends.

When I opened the door to the ballroom I could see Ash, Dawn and Brock near the food table so I went over there to meet up with them. When I got close enough I could hear Ash talking.

"You two are extremely lucky that no one noticed you. I was getting asked so many questions that I almost forgot my own name. Its times like these I almost wish that I didn't win the Sinnoh league."

"Almost? That doesn't sound like the Ash I know." I say as I walked up behind him.

"Well at least the guy let you in without the ticket May. There are advantages for being a famous person like me." He joked while straightening his posture.

"Famous huh?" I flicked his nose which surprised him enough that he stumbled backwards and fell backwards onto the floor. He then broke out laughing. "Now that's the Ash we know." Just then a low rumble could be heard and he stopped laughing instantly.

"Ya that's definitely the Ash we know," Dawn said while trying to hold in a laugh.

"Okay then its decided, let's eat first. Otherwise Ash won't be able to concentrate on anything else but his stomach." While I said that Brock started to help Ash up, and we headed off to the buffet tables.

"_I might as well help get Ash's mind out of the gutter so he can concentrate on other things tonight, namely me."_

After we got our food and sat down, Ash was not was not eating like his normal self. He took long enough to eat, almost as if he was trying to delay something.

"Well now that that's out of the way, how about we actually dance." I finally say to him as he finished yet another portion. By this time Dawn had already dragged Brock away from some girl with the help of Croagunk and forced him to dance with her.

"D-Dance?"

"Yes Ash, usually you dance at a ball like this. Why, can't you dance?"

"Hey I've been told I'm a good dancer."

"So is the mighty Ash Ketchum afraid then?"

"Of course not." He said while taking my hand as we walked out to the dance floor. As we were walking I could hear him mumble softly, "I just wasn't ready for this yet."

As he pulled me out to the dance floor I caught a glimpse of Drew with some girl off to the side. I could tell that he was furious as he looked at Ash and I.

"_So he was able to find somebody to go with him, I feel sorry for her. Oh well, time for some payback."_ I thought.

So I just pulled myself closer to Ash, partially for my own comfort and to make Drew even more jealous as well. Looking back I could see Drew fuming over what he saw, crushing the juice cup in his hand. Even as the girl he brought was having a hard time trying to figure out what he was getting so mad at. I could also see Eevee and Pikachu giving each other looks and trying to hide their laughter. _"Yep, they definitely have had a hand in what's been going on. I guess I should thank Pikachu too, but that can wait until I can get a definitive answer from Ash."_

Well Ash wasn't lying; he really was a good ballroom dancer. But then the song changed to a slow dance. After how he reacted to what happened this morning I decided it was best not to push my luck too much. As much as I wanted to continue, the last thing I would want is for him to start to disapprove of me for any reason.

"Ash if you don't want to participate in this I would understand." I say to him while trying to hide my disappointment.

"It's okay May. I promised that I would be your partner for this dance and that is what I'm going to do."

"Thank you Ash," I whisper as I wrap my arms around his neck. I looked up at his face and could see that he was blushing and had his eyes closed. _"At least he isn't as nervous about being this close to me anymore, I just wish we could do this more often."_ So I let my head rest on his chest while I melted into his arms and let the rest of the room disappear, as if we were the only two people there. With my eyes closed I started to picture the way we looked from the rest of the audience, the moon shining down on us illuminating faces that showed only pure bliss. With us dancing as close as can be, nothing mattered anymore. Time and space became irrelevant as we danced through the night.

"Um May? The dance is over."

I finally looked up from his chest and realized that he was right. Apparently I had gotten so caught up in my little fantasy that I didn't even notice that the song had come and gone. I quickly let go of Ash and turned my back to him to try and hide my blush that was just starting to form.

"Sorry." Was the only thing I could get out.

"Sure no problem May." He said with a smile.

* * *

We had another couple of dances after that one but none of them could compare to that slow dance. Maybe it was just my imagination running wild or maybe it was just that we actually held each other while both knew exactly what was happening, but that moment made what happened this morning look like chump change. At least we weren't the only two that stopped dancing, after about a couple hours or so most of the trainers had clumped into groups and started to talk about their different achievements and strategies. I could see Drew in one of the groups of coordinators bragging about his wins. I really didn't need for him to see me and get drawn into another squabble so I grabbed Eevee and headed out to the garden. What I found there was a fountain surrounded by several flowerbeds, and the moon just starting rise over the horizon. The place was absolutely beautiful. But my mind once again went back to what I was planning for tonight.

"Well Eevee I still haven't found the right moment to tell him. Right after that dance would have been the perfect time, but instead I get embarrassed and can't say a thing. Why does this have to be so difficult?"

"Vee." Eevee licked my hand; she could sense my slight depression and was trying to cheer me up, I have come to depend on her even more with this love thing going on. And when I get down like this she is always the first to catch on and try to get me back to my normal self.

"It's okay Eevee; I know you tried to help us. But it's me that has to make the decision in the end."

"Eevee." Having failed with the first try she then got into my lap and just cuddled into me.

"Well you are persistent," I said with a smile. "Don't worry; your efforts won't go to waste. I'll be able to tell him eventually."

"May? Are you out here?"

I looked up from Eevee to see the person that has been on my mind the whole day walk up towards us with Pikachu sitting on his shoulder.

"So this is where you were." He sat down on the bench next to me. "I was wondering what happened to you, you just disappeared on us."

"So were you worried about me then?"

"Um…well, ya I guess you could say I was." He looked down at his feet as he said this. Pikachu jumped down off of his shoulder into his lap, Ash then seemed to relax a bit as he started to rub Pikachu between his ears.

"Oh, I didn't know you cared." I gave a small giggle.

"Hey I was serious." He sounded a little hurt as he said it.

"I was just joking, but seriously, I am glad you feel that way." I looked down at Eevee and she looked back at me and gave me nod. "Um Ash, don't you think it's beautiful here?"

"Huh?" He looked at where we were sitting and finally back at me, as his eyes met mine he than looked right back down at Pikachu. "Ya, it is. I've never seen anything like this before."

_"Well now's as good a time as ever, here we go."_

"Ash I have something to give you." Looking back down at Eevee I tried to use her as my inspiration.

"You do?" He asked finally looking back at me. "What is it?"

"Um this," I say pulling out a small pink heart shaped box with a blue ribbon tied on it and give it to him. "Happy Valentine's Day."

He took the box and couldn't take his eyes off of it. I could see that his face was blushing madly, and he wasn't the only one. I could feel my face heating up as well.

"May, I don't know what to say."

"You could try thank you." I said quietly.

"Right, thank you May. Thank you very much."

"Alright Ash, you can open the box now; you are starting to act a little weird." I say with a small laugh.

He just looked at me and then started to open the box. As the ribbon came off he opened the lid. As he looked inside his eyes grew huge.

"Wow May, you really didn't have to do this."

Inside was a custom made and decorated Pokèball surrounded by Pokèmon shaped chocolate.

"Well do you like it?"

"Of course I love it! Thank you very much, this means a lot to me."

"I have one other thing for you Ash."

"You do? If it's as good as this, I can't wait to see what it is."

"Alright but before I give it to you I need you to close your eyes."

"If you say so." He closed his eyes and prepared to receive the second gift.

_"Well this is a little sudden, but it's now or never."_

I slowly moved closer to his face. I never have felt this nervous about anything in my life.

_"Well here it goes."_

I was just inches away from his face. I could feel his breath as he waited patiently for me to give him his second gift, although this gift wasn't anything that could be just wrapped up in a box. But before I could make a move I could feel something wet touch the back of my ankle. This surprised me and I jumped a little, straight into Ash's waiting lips. When our lips finally met I could feel him tense up, but after that odd feeling that surprised me I found myself instantly relaxing as I closed my eyes and savored this new feeling. His lips tasted sweet, almost like candy. This feeling was better than I have ever felt before, far better than when I gave him the peck on his cheek it even was better than the dance. After a few seconds I forced myself to pull away, my body trying to resist the entire way. When I finally opened my eyes I looked up at Ash, for some reason expecting the worst. His eyes were wide open staring at me, those irresistible auburn eyes.

"May, I…"

"Well Ash I wanted to figure out how you completely felt about me. These last few days I have been having many confusing things running through my head. With this I was hoping that I would finally be able to answer all of those questions. You're more than just a friend to me Ash, I love you."

"May, I…I don't know what to say."

"Don't worry Ash, actions speak louder than words. And even though I think that I might know your answer I still think that now is a good time to come clean."

"Come clean about what May?"

"I know about this morning."

He made an audible gulp, "And what about this morning are you talking about."

"You don't have to hide it Ash, I woke up before you and was awake the entire time."

"You were?"

"Don't be scared Ash, it was while you held me that I finally knew how you felt about me, even if you weren't sure yourself. And to tell you the truth I was able to completely understand my own feelings about you this morning after that. I'm in no way disappointed with how you acted."

"May…I"

I put a finger to his lips to keep him from saying anything else. "As I said actions speak far louder than words." I moved up to kiss him again. As our lips came into contact again I felt him give into the kiss and pull me into a hug as well. _"He does love me. After all of that, he really does love me. But even if his actions are enough to convince me of his true feelings, part of me is still wants to hear him say that he actually does love me."_ As our kiss deepened I could feel his tongue rub along my lips. As I started to loose control I parted my lips slightly and let his tongue slip in. The taste I had experienced before just became stronger and more desirable as the kiss continued to get deeper. We stayed that way for what seemed like hours, two friends sealing a new brand new relationship together.

When we finally pulled apart again we were both gasping for air.

"Wow Ash that was amazing. I never knew that you would be such a good kisser."

"Beginner's luck I guess." He responded while blushing yet again.

_"Well some things will never change."_

I moved closer to Ash and he brought me into an embrace.

"Even though I said that actions speak louder than words, I would still like to hear you say them Ash."

"Say what now?"

"You know, you are extremely dense. And you can be very frustrating at times." I said pulling away from him and putting my hands on my hips. I tried to keep from getting too mad after what we had just did, but he just smiled at me, that same smile that I could never resist. Any anger and frustration that I had just felt seemed to get washed away as I looked at him. "_Sigh_, but I guess that's just part of the reason why I fell in love with you." I say with a small laugh.

"I know, and thanks to you I can finally say how I feel." He took a deep breath before continuing, "May, after all this time I have come to understand the feelings that I have had for you. These past few weeks I have been overcome with these strange emotions whenever I'm around you. And while I had no clue exactly what happened this morning, all I knew was that I felt like the luckiest guy in the world having you in my arms. I wished that I could have stayed like that forever. All of today I have been wondering what that exactly meant, when I asked Brock he tried to explain it to me but none of it completely answered my questions. While I'm not sure if they are all completely answered I know I can at least ask this question, May would you be my valentine?"

"Of course Ash, I would be happy to."

He brought me into yet another kiss but nowhere near as deep as the last one.

"Thank you May. I'm glad that I asked you to the dance. Because I…I love you May."

"I love you too Ash."

And with that we brought ourselves back into each other's arms, but midway through we could hear small cheers coming from right below us. Looking down I saw Eevee peak out from behind my legs, Pikachu right next to her.

"That's right; I almost forgot that we had an audience." I say as I picked up Eevee who currently had a large grin on her face. Pikachu followed with a similar grin.

"Ash meet the matchmakers who were responsible for this morning's occurrence, and most likely far more than just that."

The two Pokèmon put on a look of triumph as we just laughed.

"Well I think that they deserve something for their efforts, don't you agree May?"

"Yes I do, but first I think that we should finish what we started."

"If that is what you desire my lady."

* * *

"So they finally find out their true feelings for each other."

"Yep, knowing Ash for as long as I have, I would never have thought that this is how he would get his first girlfriend."

Unbeknownst to the new couple below, a balcony from the ballroom looked right over the garden, and watching them was their two friends.

"So what do you think will happen now?" Dawn asked

"Well needless to say this will change our traveling group. And we might have to get used to seeing that more often." Brock said with a laugh. "But at least we won't have to worry about all that blushing anymore."

"Ya and Drew won't be anywhere near here anytime soon." Dawn added

"Well I think that we should let them be, would you like one last dance?"

"Sure, why not. Besides they will most likely be out there for a long time."

* * *

And that's the end of my third story, hope everyone liked it. For a second there I thought that it would be no where near as good as my last two, but after a few revisions I feel comfortable with the results. Not sure if there will be a fourth story yet, guess only time will tell. Thanks for all the people who reviewed and the rest of you who just read this.


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